Hotel industry and travel news from around the Asia Pacific region: Vietnam opens new international passenger terminal, China’s star-rated hotels record an average occupancy rate of 50% in Q1 2018 and more...

Facilimate Acquires 179-key Hotel Urban Brisbane for AUD31 million

Australia-based ErdiGroup (“ErdiGroup”) has announced that it has finalised the sale of the 179-key Hotel Urban Brisbane to Australia-based Facilimate Pty Ltd. (“Facilimate”) for AUD31 million. Originally announced in April 2018, the transaction has been finalised with Facilimate as the buyer, taking full ownership of the property as of 23 August, including the management of the hotel, and rebranding it as Pacific Hotel Brisbane. The offloading will enable ErdiGroup to focus on its existing core assets and on growing its businesses in Melbourne and Sydney. Located directly adjacent to the proposed AUD2 billion Brisbane Live precinct, the hotel offers 179 rooms and suites, a restaurant, a bar, swimming pool, gymnasium along with large conference and event facilities.

InterGlobe Acquires BPM Hotel Development Project in Melbourne for AUD91 Million

Australian-based property developer BPM (“BPM”) has sold an unbuilt 30-storey, 241-key hotel development project located at 33 King Street to India-based investment fund InterGlobe Enterprises (“InterGlobe”), a market leader in aviation, hospitality and travel-related services, for AUD91 million. In 2016, BPM acquired the 350 square metre central Melbourne site from Malaysia-based developer Asia One (“Asia One”) for AUD12.35 million. Located on the corner of Flinders Lane and King Street, close to the Rialto Tower and the Southern Cross Station, the project will be developed by BPM for InterGlobe and managed by Toga Far East (“TFE Hotels”) under Far East Hospitality’s Quincy brand, marking the brand’s debut in Australia. The hotel will offer 241 rooms distributed over 30 levels and will also feature common facilities including a ground floor café and rooftop bar. Construction will be undertaken by an Australian-based construction company Maxcon Pty Ltd (“Maxcon”) starting in the third quarter of 2018. As of now, no expected date of completion has been released. InterGlobe primarily develops hotels under AccorHotels’ brand and has a portfolio of 16 operational ibis hotels across India, with another seven in development.

Vietnam Opens New International Passenger Terminal

Jointly developed by Singapore-based architecture firm CPG Consultants (“CPG”), United-States Pacific Architects & Engineers (“PAE”) and Vietnam-based Airport Design and Construction Consultancy (“ADCC”), the new USD163 million Cam Ranh International Airport Terminal 2 officially opened on 30 June after 19 months of construction. Comprising of two storeys, the newly inaugurated Terminal 2 spans a total of 52,000 square metre of floor space and was built to mimic a bird’s nest, a specialty and symbol of Vietnam’s Khan Hoa Province. Cam Ranh International Airport’s passenger handling capacity will increase by an additional 8 million passengers a year, representing an increase of 4.8 million more passengers than it handled last year. Furthermore, the terminal will serve additional flights from Singapore, Thailand, Japan and other domestic routes from destinations such as Phu Quoc. The new facility provides a total of 80 check-in counters in four rows, ten aircraft bridges, six baggage carousels and four air bridges. Several new developments are in the pipeline for Nha Trang, most notably at Long Beach, an eight-kilometre-long strip of sand, located approximately five minutes away from the airport with more than 30 hospitality projects planned for the strip.

China’s Star-Rated Hotels Record an Average Occupancy Rate of 50.55% in Q1 2018

In the first quarter of 2018, about 9,586 star-rated hotels were successfully reviewed by provincial tourism administrations in China, including 62 one-star hotels, 1,683 two-star hotels, 4,613 three-star hotels, 2,401 four-star hotels and 827 five-star hotels. Combined, these star-rated hotels generated a total revenue of RMB48.711 billion, up by 2.43% year-on-year (y-o-y). Food & beverage and guestroom incomes contributed RMB20.824 billion and RMB20.912 billion, accounting for 42.75% and 42.93%, respectively, of the total revenue. The average room rate (ARR) of all star-rated hotels was RMB343.13 per room night, up by 1.07% y-o-y; average occupancy rate (AOR) was 50.55%, up by 0.35 percentage points y-o-y; revenue per available room (RevPAR) was RMB173.45, up by 1.77% y-o-y; and the average operating income per room was RMB33,831, up by 13.22% y-o-y.

Hyatt Regency Seragaki Island Okinawa Opens

US-based Hyatt Hotels Corporation (“Hyatt”) opened its first Japanese beach resort, Hyatt Regency Seragaki Island Okinawa, in Onna on 21 August. Located in Onna, Okinawa’s most sought-after beach destination, the hotel is approximately one hour by car from Naha Airport and is situated nearby attractions such as the Bios no Oka subtropical forest, the Okashi Goten sweets factory, the Ryukyu Mura theme park, and the scenic Cape Manzamo, a dramatic coral cliff and ideal spot for sunset-viewing. The hotel offers stunning views of the East China Sea from all 344 guest rooms which include 71 Regency Club rooms, 16 suites and 24 Beach House rooms which come with full kitchens or kitchenettes designed for families or longer stays. The Property also features six dining outlets, six banquet venues with ocean views and outdoor terraces, Spa Hanari, and a kids’ club.

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